Bridging digital divide: UP govt to distribute free smartphones soon

When Akhilesh Yadav launched the 4 G service of a national telecom company in UP at a function here recently, the UP chief minister had said he may include distribution of smartphones in the Samajwadi Party's election manifesto.TNN | September 05, 2016, 08:25 IST

LUCKNOW: When Akhilesh Yadav launched the 4 G service of a national telecom company in UP at a function here recently, the UP chief minister had said he may include distribution of smartphones in the Samajwadi Party's election manifesto.

But he seems to be a man in a hurry, with state elections less than six months away. Just a few days after TOI reported that he wished to add smartphones in the manifesto, Akhilesh's government is all set to roll out a scheme to distribute free smartphones in UP. The scheme will come up for the cabinet's approval later this week and people can begin registering online in a month to stake claim to these phones.

The smartphones are aimed at benefitting a wide section -- if it looks to enable people to get access to services that are delivered online by the government, it would help students access educational material while farmers will be able to access information like weather forecasts, commodity markets and loan options.

"When we introduced laptops a few years ago, I had said they were aimed at bridging the digital divide. Today, smartphones are the device of choice and convenience. In Indian situations, they are ideal for connecting rural youth and farmers to the development highway," said chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

"If devices are not available to people, investment in infrastructure and services would be of no use. It is for this reason we had distributed laptops and are now aiming at distributing smartphones to youth, farmers and others," he added.

The phones are available to those who are 18 and above on January 1, 2017, and apply online. The phones will be home-delivered following due diligence of online applications.

The process will begin in a month, under which people can register themselves online for a phone by uploading their high school certificates as a proof of date of birth.

The phones will be acquired through global bidding. The handsets will also have apps that would help them access government schemes in the form of audio, video and text.

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